The Impact of the Mathletes Training Program on the Math Achievement and Self – Concept of Students

An intervention program for the academically at risk students is usually given by every school. However, little attention is given to the talented and gifted students. Hence, a Mathletes Training Program was initiated by the University of San Carlos, Basic Education Department – South Campus, Cebu City, Philippines during school year 2015-2016, to expose the students to advance Mathematics and to bring their mathematical knowledge alive through participating in inter-school competitions. This descriptive study sought to evaluate the program’s effectiveness after a year of implementation using 100 randomly selected Mathlete respondents. The findings revealed that the Mathletes considered the program highly effective ( = 3.85); there was a significant increase on their grades in Mathematics (t (99) = 2.828, p<.05) and an increase in their self-concept (t (99) = 8.156, p<.05).The study provides evidence that meaningful learning activities that engage the learners in interactions, collaborations, critical thinking and problem solving bring students’ achievement to a higher level. The Mathletes also were transformed to become more confident, and interested and had fun learning Math.

Keywords: Mathletes Training program, Mathletes, grades, self-concept, impact, descriptive study